Mushroom Rock (Death Valley National Park)

Mushroom Rock once one of the 49 points of interest in Death Valley National Park. In the last ten years, the strangely eroded hunk of basalt was removed from the list, most likely due to the erosion caused by human interference (ie: touching, and climbing on the rock). Past literature from the NPS described Mushroom Rock as, “This mass of old basalt has been eroded into its unusual shape by temperature extremes, water, rain, and wind-blown sand and salt.”

Because the rock has been removed from the list doesn’t mean that you can’t visit Mushroom Rock, it just no longer advertised as one of the many features of Death Valley.

You will find Mushroom Rock at a pull off just north of the exit from Artist Pallet, along Badwater Road.

MUSHROOM ROCK, AKA. THE DEVIL’S THRONE WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE ATTRACTIONS OF DEATH VALLEY IN ITS EARLY INCARNATION AS A MONUMENT.

About the author

Jim Mattern

Jim is a scapegoat for the NPS, an author, adventurer, photographer, radio personality, guide, and location scout. His interests lie in Native American and cultural sites, ghost towns, mines, and natural wonders in the American Deserts.